1995 Episode Discussion

[Skylover]

Was genuinely shocked by this moment just now when Joe called Sally the 'ugliest dog in the school'.  She's not ugly by any stretch of the imagination, bless her.

Anyone else feel like Ailsa's overreacting? She stresses herself out by taking on too much then lashes out...

[Red Ranger 1]

Caught up on 1705 and 1706, so still a bit behind. My thought on Joe is…he needs to get over it. Yes, Teresa isn’t perfect and yes, I’m sure he had a great time at the football with his dad, but if he hasn’t seen him in three and a half years then there’s probably more going on than “It’s all Teresa’s fault.” And it certainly doesn’t excuse what he did to Sally. Curtis isn’t helping matters by increasing the antagonism level, although so far Joe’s giving as good as he gets. Curtis telling Selina she’s beautiful right after she’s told Joe no-one’s ever said it was a sweet moment. I actually thought Curtis was a bit weak with Laura, letting her drag him into things he knew deep down were unwise.

At the risk of sounding heartless, Ailsa probably needs to get over it as well. I get that it’s not that simple and I get that she went through a frightening experience but she’s indulging in rampant paranoia by now. It probably is at the point where Alf needs to get a professional involved whether she’s willing to see them or not.

Oh yes, Marilyn. Sorry to go against the grain but I think I groaned when she came back in 1995 and this time round I got a brief “Oh, Marilyn!” followed by enthusiasm fading as I remembered that Marilyn’s a bit irritating. Shame Phil got character-assassinated to bring her back as well. My first thought was how young she looked, my second was that actually even then she was dressing younger than she was. I don’t think there was any continuity blip over her and Irene being familiar with each other. I seem to recall Irene was staying at the caravan park so they probably bumped into each other at the store in the early 90s. I imagine Marilyn was filled in on what she’s been up to and I imagine Irene’s had Alf bending her ear about what a great assistant she was. (Incidentally, I note Irene still working at the store in 1706.)

Shannon is so obviously setting herself up for a huge fall that I can’t even bring myself to dislike her. Her speech to Curtis and Selina about wanting more than a teen relationship was pretty deluded and their reaction was priceless. I remember Selina being her confidante, which causes her a bit of trouble…

Re Sally and Gus, being bright intellectually doesn’t guarantee good choices when it comes to the company you keep, and I also think Sally’s insecurities come into play. She put herself out there with Joe and got repeatedly humiliated so someone wanting to spend time with her is going to have an effect. Not got beyond a few mentions yet but I remember the camp.

Don’s vindictive streak comes out for more than one person and with mixed results.

[beau_t]

Selina was right - Fisher stood there on the bus and bad-mouthed Selina in front of everyone without even having listened to her side of the story. If it wasn't for Selina, Fisher would have a missing student on his hands, a student who was supposed to be under his care. I'm glad Irene apologized and is going to stick up for her from now on.

Seemed like the scene of Marilyn looking at Lance's mobile home warranted a flashback.

Shane made a mistake not telling Angel about Shannon immediately. Now she's banging on about Phil and Marilyn, it's quite difficult for him to bring it up - although he still should. I wonder if a scene was cut of Shane telling Travis about it. He seemed to know about it, going off his reaction to what Angel said.

The past couple of episodes have had a lot going on in them and I get the feeling several things were cut for timing, with the way several scenes have suddenly ended mid-conversation.

[alexx]

1 hour ago, beau_t said:

The past couple of episodes have had a lot going on in them and I get the feeling several things were cut for timing, with the way several scenes have suddenly ended mid-conversation

Yes I noticed in particular that it seems like there might have been a cut in the scene when Joe told Irene that Selina stopped him from going to find his dad. It looked like Joe and Teresa had been in a conversation that actually I really would have liked to have seen because they're now on more pleasant terms and it's happened off screen which is frustrating. Unless I've missed something? I also wonder if a scene might have been cut where Joe and Selina might have talked a bit more in depth about not having a relationship with their dads.

Really like the dynamic between Selina and Irene, I genuinely felt hurt for Selina when Irene didn't listen to her and that she jumped to the wrong conclusion when she had actually done something really selfless. This is why I like Irene more during this era compared to now, she's a lot more flawed and there's more depth to her as she figures out how to be a good role model/parent figure.

[Skylover]

11 hours ago, Edward Skylover said:

Anyone else feel like Ailsa's overreacting? She stresses herself out by taking on too much then lashes out...

I said this last night before I'd got to the part where Ailsa was attacked. So I feel a bit bad now. The actress is doing a really good job and I do feel really sorry for her now.

Bobby coming out of the fridge must be coming up soon? I feel like we've been building up to that moment for months and it still hasn't happened, I'm genuinely intrigued as to how much further they're going to push Ailsa to the brink of despair :P

This story with Joe and Teresa(sp?) is one of the strongest I've seen on H&A so far. When they both first arrived I sort of thought oh here we go again, another couple of guests who will do their thing and be on their way. But they've actually had quite a big impact. Joe genuinely feels unpleasant but the actor's playing it really well cause you do tend to feel a bit sorry for him too. He gives off a Dodge vibe in the sense that he's never going to change - he's so resentful to his mother and the sad thing about this story is that no matter how much they argue, they'll never reach an understanding. That's what I like about this story. They love each other but there's no understanding on either side.

I've head people say that Sally was a background character for most of the 90s but current episodes appear to be proving that wrong. I would say she's very front and centre and rightly so - this Gus was someone I thought I'd instantly hate but the actor is bringing Neighbours Timmins vibes that I can't help but like him. Travis, on the other hand, comes across quite wooden on occasion and I can't help but think he needs a good wash when I look at him. I love Sally's relationships with Jack and Shannon, they work so well as foster siblings, they seem to have the best vibe among the foster household since, well, forever, or at least since the beginning.

10 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Oh yes, Marilyn. Sorry to go against the grain but I think I groaned when she came back in 1995 and this time round I got a brief “Oh, Marilyn!” followed by enthusiasm fading as I remembered that Marilyn’s a bit irritating. Shame Phil got character-assassinated to bring her back as well.

I have to agree with you about this. To be honest I even surprised myself with my reaction to seeing her back. She's one of the best things about the current show, but something feels weird at the moment about her return. Having said that, I have always found that Marilyn tends to come across as slightly OTT upon her immediate returns before she settles down. This happened in 2010, although to a slightly less extent (the writing seemed funnier in her 2010 return) but I remember her annoying Miles and Nicole quite a lot. I have only seen one episode of her return so for though, so maybe I'm pre-judging. It does feel like a very odd time for her to return - I know she's got friends in the Stewarts and the Rosses but I feel most of her links to the show have gone, her return would have felt more natural if Bobby was still around. Nevertheless, I love the father/daughter relationship Alf and Marilyn have, it's so lovely seeing him be so protective over her.

Of course having seen later clips from the 90s Marilyn cements herself as one of the truly iconic characters (if she isn't by this time already) so bringing her back was most definitely the right thing to do. She still lives on today and there is a reason for that. 

Seeing the second theme tune take over truly feels like we've reached a milestone.  I can't believe how lucky we are and I feel grateful for every episode I get to watch of the early years

[Dan F]

6 hours ago, Edward Skylover said:

Spoiler

Bobby coming out of the fridge must be coming up soon? I feel like we've been building up to that moment for months and it still hasn't happened, I'm genuinely intrigued as to how much further they're going to push Ailsa to the brink of despair

 

Oh VERY soon...  

For those who may not read the other thread - following the hiatus for the Paralympics, the Early Years are currently set to resume on Tuesday 20th September with Episode 1713.

[alexx]

I was meaning to ask about this. A few episodes ago Ailsa accused Alf of pretty much being on the side of the man who 'wants to kill me'. This is the first glimpse of what actually happened to her right? At the moment it hasn't been very clear exactly what happened to her, leaving it up to the audiences imagination.

I'm presuming that she's been raped because she's absolutely traumatized but does Alf (and others like Pippa) know exactly what's happened to her or not? Now that she's revealed that he tried to kill her it adds an even more scary element to what obviously was a horrendous ordeal and the paranoia makes even more sense now.

[CaptainHulk]

I'm guessing he manhandled her pretty badly and threatened to blow the heads off the people she cared about as well as hers.

[Old H&A Fan]

 

14 hours ago, beau_t said:

Selina was right - Fisher stood there on the bus and bad-mouthed Selina in front of everyone without even having listened to her side of the story. If it wasn't for Selina, Fisher would have a missing student on his hands, a student who was supposed to be under his care. I'm glad Irene apologized and is going to stick up for her from now on.

That's right. He was trying to enforce a rule set by the Department because of society's prejudices about "horny teenagers" because "one thing leads to another" (the most common excuse for sexist seggregation). He was dealing with an imaginary problem at the expense of a real problem — that being Joseph going missing. And that would have been a REAL failure of his duty of care, wouldn't it!!

[Red Ranger 1]

2 hours ago, alexx said:

I was meaning to ask about this. A few episodes ago Ailsa accused Alf of pretty much being on the side of the man who 'wants to kill me'. This is the first glimpse of what actually happened to her right? At the moment it hasn't been very clear exactly what happened to her, leaving it up to the audiences imagination.

I'm presuming that she's been raped because she's absolutely traumatized but does Alf (and others like Pippa) know exactly what's happened to her or not? Now that she's revealed that he tried to kill her it adds an even more scary element to what obviously was a horrendous ordeal and the paranoia makes even more sense now.

I have to say I'm not getting that vibe at all.Did Ailsa actually say that he tried to kill her or just that he threatened to kill her?Because those are very different things.I can imagine him saying something like "Open the till or I'll break your neck" but if he tried to kill her...why didn't he?Ailsa's obviously not got a firm grip on reality, convinced he's coming back when he's probably more scared of being in Summer Bay than she is.While the robbery was the trigger, I don't think it's the only reason for her current state of mind, she was so close to breaking point that a fairly minor ordeal would have pushed her over the edge, Pippa pretty much said so.